Stax Museum celebrates 16th anniversary, biSoultennial

MEMPHIS, TN (WMC) - May 2nd marks the 16th year of making music at Stax Museum, and part of Thursday’s celebration was about honoring Memphis’ 200th birthday and music created here in the Bluff City.

“Understanding two hundred years of soul with a real heavy focus on what was happening in Memphis,” Stax director of education Kimberly Hooper-Taylor said.

The biSOULtennial celebration kicks off this month and they want the public to get involved.

A Spotify playlist created by Stax includes 200 Memphis soul songs and they want Memphians to pick your top ten - voting starts May 15.

“Memphis has contributed not just everything to soul music, but pretty much everything to American popular music. Period,” Jeff Kollath, Stax executive director, said.

The contribution has now turned into a celebration.

“A lot of these artists of course got there start in the church like many do today,” Hooper-Taylor said. “It directly connects the past and the present just by hearing the tunes of then and just kind of connecting it to today.”